1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a detachable casting mold sidewall unit restricting a concrete element or product to be cast in the mold, which sidewall unit comprises a support structure and a mold surface plate. More precisely the present disclosure relates to a method for adjusting such a sidewall unit and to such a sidewall unit.
2. Description of Related Art
When manufacturing prefabricated concrete elements, the elements are cast in an element factory in molds that can be vertical molds, such as battery molds, or horizontal molds, such as table molds and tilting molds. For assembling the molds, there are generally used detachable sidewall units that are attached to the mold surface, either horizontal or vertical surface, by means of magnets. Some of the sidewalls or sidewall units of the casting mold may also be fixedly connected, by bolts or welding, or connected through hinges to the mold, generally at the edges of the mold surface.
When using horizontal molds, such as table molds or tilting molds, the manufacturing process is started by first building on the casting table a mold that defines the measures of the product to be cast. Generally this is nowadays carried out by building the mold on a metallic tiltable casting table of mold sidewall units that are attached by means of magnets. When the mold defining the external measures of the mold is finished, inside the mold there are, when necessary, respectively formed areas bordered by sidewall units, for example for windows, doors or other corresponding allocations defining the casting area of the cast product. Moreover, when necessary, various devices are placed on the casting table inside the mold for shaping the outer surface of the cast product or for forming the required allocations on the outer surface, such as cardboard, provided with surface retarder, that is set on the casting table when casting graphic concrete. At the final stage of preparing the mold, it is provided with the necessary reinforcements, whereafter concrete mix is poured in the mold.
For pouring concrete mix in a mold, there is generally used a concrete mix casting arrangement moving above the mold that feeds concrete mix to the casting mold. When employing a tilting mold, this casting of concrete mix in the mold takes place from a casting arrangement placed above the casting table or brought above the casting table. When casting in a circulating mold line, the casting mold is generally brought to a vibrator station provided with casting equipment, in which vibrator station the concrete mix is poured in the mold.
Possibly already during the casting of the concrete mix, but not later than after the concrete mix is poured in the mold, the mold filled with concrete mix is vibrated for compacting the concrete mix and for ensuring that the mold is properly filled. When using tilting molds, said vibration is realized for example by intermediation of vibrators placed under the casting table, and in a circulating mold line in a vibrator station where the concrete mix is poured in the mold, said vibrator station being provided with vibrators for vibrating the casting mold.
After the cast concrete product is cured, the product is in the case of a tilting mold removed from the casting mold by disassembling part of the mold, by tilting the casting table and by lifting the product away from the casting table by means of lifting loops or lugs provided in the product. In a circulating mold line, the mold is transferred to a separate tilting station for removing the cast concrete product from the mold.
Presently robots are used more frequently in furnishing horizontal casting molds of prefabricated concrete elements and products. In the casting mold assembly step said furnishing robots generally fetch the detachable sidewall units from storage and set them on predetermined spots on the casting table. After setting each detachable sidewall unit in place, the furnishing robot locks the sidewall unit in place by activating the fastening magnets fixing the sidewall unit, either part of said magnets or all at the same time. Typically detachable sidewall units to be set in place by furnishing robots are provided with fastening magnet units located inside the sidewall units, said fastening magnet units being operable through the top surface of the sidewall unit, typically by intermediation of a control pin extending upwardly from the top surface.
Detachable mold sidewall units generally comprise a mold surface plate defining a mold surface setting against the product to be cast, and a suitable support structure for supporting the mold surface plate against the pressure caused by the concrete mass cast in the mold. The mold surface plate is fixed to the supports structure in suitable way and the height of the mold surface plate generally must substantially be equal, and the height of the support structure may not exceed, the thickness of the product to be cast, and so that required surface finishing may be carried out to the fresh uncured concrete element without hindrances. This means that used mold sidewall units need to be changed or their height adjusted when the thickness of the concrete element to be cast changes.
Patent publication EP 1 900 489 B1 discloses a sidewall construction where the support structure is formed from two horizontally extending aluminum profiles and at least one vertically extending aluminum profile, which vertically extending aluminum profile is located between the horizontally extending aluminum profiles and connected to the horizontally extending profiles with coarse threaded screws. This way the height of the supports structure of the sidewall construction can be changed by changing the length of the vertically extending aluminum profiles.
Another known solution to be used especially with furnishing robots is to form the sidewalls or sidewall units from a plurality of smaller elements or parts that can be stacked and fixed on top of each other. This way the height of the sidewall can be adjusted by adding or removing parts from the stack forming the sidewall. This solution, however, is somewhat slow, since the robot needs to retrieve several parts to be located at the same place on the casting bed or table. This solution is also uneconomical, since in order to achieve the required set heights of sidewalls for different thicknesses of products to be cast, different thicknesses or heights of parts forming the sidewalls are required, which increases the amount of sidewall parts needed in the casting processes.
The embodiments of the present invention provide easily adjustable mold sidewall unit for casting concrete products, the sidewall unit comprising a support structure and a mold surface plate fixed to the support structure, where the mold surface plate is fixed vertically adjustably to the support structure, so that the same sidewall unit can be used for different product heights by simply moving and adjusting the mold surface plate setting against the product to be cast in vertical direction in relation to the support structure of the sidewall unit. The vertical orientation in the present invention is defined in the situation when the sidewall unit is fixed onto the casting bed, such as on the top surface of a casting table.
The mold surface plate of the sidewall unit of the invention comprises at least two portions extending along the length of the sidewall unit and connected to the support structure, and the vertical position of at least one of the portions is adjusted to form a gap between the portions, which gap also extends along the length of the sidewall unit. This embodiment can be used for casting concrete wall elements, which include an insulation layer, and the gap in the sidewall unit is placed in the area of the insulation layer or layers.
In embodiments of the present invention the mold surface plate adjustment may be done before or after the mold sidewall unit is placed and/or fixed on the casting bed.
In embodiments of the present invention the support structure of the sidewall unit may also be height adjustable, so that the support structure can be adjusted to correspond the mold surface plate adjustment.
The sidewall unit of the invention is advantageously a detachable sidewall unit, which is fixed in the casting bed with at least one magnet. The magnet used in the fixing may be a fixed part of the sidewall unit or it may be a separate magnet unit. Alternative detachable fixing means may also be utilized.
The sidewall unit of the invention is advantageously used with a furnishing robot, whereby the furnishing robot carries out the required mold surface plate adjustments.
More precisely the features defining a method according to an embodiment of the present invention are presented as a A method for adjusting a sidewall unit (1) of a casting mold for concrete products, which sidewall unit comprises a support structure (2, 32, 42) and a mold surface plate (3, 3′, 33, 43) fixed to the support structure, and which sidewall unit is fixed on a casting bed (8), characterized in that the mold surface plate comprises at least two portions (3, 3′) extending along the length of the sidewall unit and connected to the support structure (2) and the vertical position of at least one of the portions (3), defined by orientation of the sidewall unit (1) fixed on a casting bed (8), is adjusted to form a gap (9) extending along the length of the sidewall unit between the portions.
The features defining a sidewall unit according to an embodiment of the present invention are presented as sidewall unit (1) of a casting mold for concrete products, which sidewall unit comprises a support structure (2, 32, 42) and a mold surface plate (3, 3′, 33, 43) fixed to the support structure, characterized in that the mold surface plate comprises at least two portions (3, 3′) extending along the length of the sidewall unit, at least one of the portions (3) is fixed vertically adjustably, in the orientation of a sidewall unit (1) fixed on a casting bed (8), to the support structure (2), and a gap (9) extending along the length of the sidewall unit separates at least two of the portions. Other advantageous features and embodiments of the invention are disclosed herein.